Reality.

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How many legs does a dog have
if you call the tail a leg?

Four.
Calling a tail a leg
doesn't make it a leg.

~Abraham Lincoln

At times, it slaps us in the face.

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The Power of Emotion

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Change that ignores the heart will seldom transform the life.

- Paul David Tripp

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Let Them Eat Cake

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The most sacred business
of judges is not to ratify the will
of the majority,
but to protect the minority
from its tyranny.

- Anna Quindlen, The Same People
Newsweek, June 9, 2008

(Read the rest of the article here.)

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Thoughts from Abe, 145 Years Ago

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Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

- Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

Two years ago, I clearly remember Kelly Stern's first pride photo. At the time, I was just starting to learn what blogs were all about. I was amazed at the connection of so many around blogland to join in Kelly's challenge. Last year I posted the second photo in the series on my site, too. This year I'm glad to join in again. I painfully recognize the need -- while we all may be created equal, many are discriminated daily in a number of ways. Fortunately, I believe that change for the good is happening.

To participate in Kelly's current challenge, go here.

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Don't We All?

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I just wish that I could fast-forward through my life and see that everything ends up OK.

- Susan Mayer
Desperate Housewives, May 4, 2008

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Love in a Paper Cup

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There will never be a day
when I don't need cupcakes.

Betty Suarez
Ugly Betty, April 24, 2008

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Is Justice Ever Served?

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Every story has three sides.
Yours, mine and the facts.

- Foster Russell

* * *

6 Years, 4 months and 25 days ago my best friend at work was murdered by his wife.

She was eventually tried and found guilty. Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal, thus upholding her conviction and sentence.

She is the State’s only female inmate on death row. But, I assume, she won’t be there much longer.

I'm not sure how I feel about this news. He and I had worked together for thirteen years. I still think of him almost daily. And of his wife. And of their two kids, now 17 and 13 years old.

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Pocket Pool?

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"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost."

— Martina Navratilova

Baghdatis over Johansson
7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Australian Open - 1st Round
15 January, 2008

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Promises, Promises

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You can't build a reputation
on what you are going to do.

- Henry Ford

TGIF

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Who Knew?

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Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.

- Cullen Hightower

I assume that it's art.

- Paul

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Sometimes It's Hard To Say "No"

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Self discipline is when your
conscious tells you to do something
and
you don't talk back.

- W.K. Hope

The first year I lived in Chicago, a friend of mine from work and I were walking home one night when we found a $50 bill on the sidewalk. We knew that there was nowhere to turn it in, but we wanted to do some good with our new-found fortune. We settled on buying twenty-five boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

I have no self discipline when it comes to Thin Mints.

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We can choose ...

... between the future and the past,
between reason and ignorance,
between true compassion
. . . . . . . . . . and mere ideology.

- Ron Reagan, Jr.


- Peek-a-Boo I, Rabbit, Yuko Lau

- Peek-a-Boo V, Mouse, Yuko Lau

- Peek-a-Boo IV, Pig, Yuko Lau


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Thank God for the Court System

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I don't think I've ever been more repulsed than by some of the hate-filled rhetoric of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church.

Personally I don't even think it's appropriate to make the statement I typed in the title of this post. But, I do want to thank someone.

It's hard not to judge
those that are judgemental.

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We do not determine our purpose,

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we detect it.

-Vikto Frankl

* * * *

I’ve always liked Memphis and the song Walking in Memphis. Many years ago I worked for advertising agency and we shot a commercial on Beale Street. I remember it was a rainy night. We shot the commercial between 3:00 and 5:00 AM. Other than a bum or two, there wasn't anyone on the street but us.

It was a great trip. While we were in town we also got to tour Graceland and St Jude Children’s Memorial Hospital. We stayed at the Peabody and ate ribs at the Rendezvous.

In one song, Walking in Memphis brings back all the memories. I’ve even got a CD that I often play in the car that has noting but this song on it by different artists – Marc Cohn, Cher, Soul Kitchen, Brian Mattson, Lonestar, The Union, Sixboro, Linda Kosut, John Tesh, Paul Anka, Eddie Harrison, Cirrus, Steve Acho, even The Bison Chips.

There’s something about the tune that gets me tapping my foot and singing along. And then there is my favorite line, “Tell me, are you a Christian, child?" And I say, "Man, I am tonight.”

We do not determine our purpose, we detect it.

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Somedays you just don't want to get involved.

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TGIF

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Two Tests

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The test of courage
comes when we are in the minority.

The test of tolerance
comes when we are in the majority.

-Ralph W. Sockman



Courage, acrylic on unstretched canvas, 1976
C. Morey de Morand

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You Inspire Me, AND Make Me Laugh.

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Happy Birthday and Congratulations!
Have a truly great and wonderful day!

* * *

There are no unimportant jobs,
no unimportant people,
no unimportant acts of kindness.

- A Father's Book of Wisdom

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Thanks.

Friendship is born at that moment
when one person says to another:
"What! You, too?
Thought I was the only one."

- C.S. Lewis

I’ve got to get the image out of my head of some frickin’ homeless dude riding around on my bike. Or some dealer accepting my bike as payment for crack. I'm hoping this sunset does the trick.

Maybe I'll see mystery man in church again this Sunday.

TGIF

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Smile at five everyday.

Smile at each other.
It doesn't matter who it is.
That will help you to grow up in greater love.

-Mother Theresa

A few months ago, I was leaving church when a man I’d never seen before smiled at me. It was the most welcoming, affable smile I think I’ve ever seen. There was a genuine sparkle in his eyes. We didn’t get a chance to meet. But hopefully, I returned his gesture.

Since then, I’ve wondered who he is. I've hoped that I would see him again.

Yesterday I was a little late getting to church, so I decided to sneak into the balcony and sit on the back row. Three rows in front of me was mystery man. I didn’t even notice him until during one of the hymns he glanced around at the back at the church. When he saw me the corners of his mouth raised in a smile. I immediately sensed he was saying, “how are you?” … “I hope you’re having a great day” … “I’m glad to see you.”

I swear, it made my day.

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When you say,

"But I've always done it this way,"
you're a stumbling block,
who gets left behind.

- Anne Sadovsky
101 Thoughts to Make You Think

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